


Mal D'amour

by GR3YM0N



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Park Rangers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28689273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GR3YM0N/pseuds/GR3YM0N
Summary: Jun has worked at Camellia Lake State Park for as long as he can remember. Every summer a new person tries to take up the park ranger position, convinced that a few weeks in the forest is exactly what they need to resolve every problem in their life. When lanky, bratty Yanan appears on the doorstep of Jun’s cabin he’s sure he won’t even last five days, let alone the 20 days left until the summer season is officially over.
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Yan An
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11
Collections: Constellations Fest for Pentagon





	Mal D'amour

**Author's Note:**

> My prompt: Twenty Nights - when 2 strangers spend twenty nights together and learn things to love and hate about each other.

“You’re actually doing this? Like, you’re actually leaving right now?” Wooseok gaped at the luggage Yanan packed into the trunk of his already stuffed SUV. “I know things have been rough for you these past few months but you can’t just…uproot your entire life because of it.”

“I’m not uprooting anything if I never had roots here to begin with,” Yanan said, barely paying attention as he zipped a suitcase closed. “You know I’m fine, Woo. If I was actually having a quarter life crisis or something you would know before I even did.”

“That doesn’t mean anything and you know it, dude. Remember when you started vaping? You told me you were fine for like a month straight.”

“And when the month was up guess who never vaped ever again?”

“You didn’t feel like walking to the gas station anymore because you were tired all the time. You know, because of the nicotine?”

“Well this isn’t vaping!” Yanan said, finally shutting the trunk triumphantly. “I’m taking initiative for once and doing something to change my shitty situation. Isn’t that a _good_ thing?”

Wooseok pursed his lips and thought it over. “I’m proud that you’re doing so much better, okay? That goes without saying. But I’m worried you’re running away from your problems instead of fixing them.”

“The job is only 20 days to start with. After that’s up who knows what I’ll do next. But I can’t stay in the city anymore, especially not in that apartment when I’m not even the one paying for it. Maybe you’re right and I’m just trying to run away, but I think I need that right now. Just to clear my head a bit.”

Wooseok crossed his arms dramatically and sighed before walking close enough to stare at his best friend’s face. He looked Yanan up and down with a shake of his head. “You’re sure about this?”

“Completely sure.” Yanan answered with a grin.

“And you packed everything? Clothes, shoes, bug spray, pills, etcetera?”

“I wouldn’t forget to bring my antidepressants on a 20 day isolated journey into the forest, Woo.”

“I never said that!” Wooseok said, holding his arms up in mock surrender. “Just trying to make sure you remembered the essentials since it’s a six hour drive.”

“Yes, I double checked every bag. I didn’t forget anything and even if I did, the park has service. I’ll call if something’s wrong.” Yanan tossed his car keys over to Wooseok and got in the passenger seat. “Can we please leave now?”

“You better actually call me.” Wooseok grumbled, climbing into the SUV. “No suffering in silence or any of that shit you always do. You’re not a burden and if you need help you can ask for it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Yanan answered. He stared out the window and watched as apartment complexes gave way to trees as the city disappeared behind them. “Thank you, Woo, seriously. For being there and trusting me and stuff. Even though you don’t have to.”

“I’m your best friend, dumbass. Of course I wanna help you.”

Yanan snort laughed and ruffled his friend’s unruly black hair. “Way to ruin the fucking moment, dude. Here I am honestly communicating and then you go and call me a _dumbass_ for expressing my _true feelings_ —”

“Go to hell, I’m trying to drive.”

“My car. That I might just end up selling anyway.”

Wooseok’s head quickly whipped to look at Yanan and then back at the road. “You’re not selling this car.”

“I might, who knows. Once again, I did not pay for it, so who cares.”

“I care! You can’t just sell this car, it’s my baby! How else am I supposed to drive down the hill when it gets icy? With fucking ski gear?”

“I’m leaving my only vehicle primarily in your care for almost an entire month. Just enjoy these last few weeks of leaching while they last”

Wooseok turned to stick out his tongue and Yanan playfully rolled his eyes. This was going well. Despite his own worries, things were good. Better than they had been in a long time. And instead of worrying about how long that would last, he had to just let himself live in the moment and enjoy it. Yanan pushed his blonde hair back and tied it into a ponytail, biting his lip in thought. He needed this change, whether he was actually ready to move on or not.

\---

Jun considered himself to be a pretty kind person. Maybe he’d even go as far as to call himself considerate. It didn’t take him long to get along with someone and even the shyest people warmed up to him after a day or so. But even he had limits. Namely, being forced to share his cabin with some faceless new guy only weeks after his old roommate moved out. Maybe that was rude to say, but no one who’d worked at the park for longer than a year would disagree: summer hires were particularly temporary. Those were always the people looking for a break from their “real life” as if the rest of the world got put on pause just because they’d walked away from it. Jun preferred the weirdo winter hires over them any day— sure, he suspected at least half of them were secretly murderers but at least they got their work done. So to say he started out his day “a bit grumpy” would not be an understatement.

“You’re a bit grumpy, aren’t you?” Minghao sneered as he helped Jun clean out the bedroom that was once his. He’d technically moved out of the cabin and into a nearby firewatch tower weeks ago, but barely made any attempts to relocate all of his belongings until the news came in that Jun was getting a _new_ roommate. Something no one had thought possible up until it actually happened.

“Who says I’m grumpy?” Jun mumble shouted from the bathroom, toothbrush precariously close to falling out of his mouth. “Hui and Seungcheol are just trying to prove a point. No way in the world do they actually expect me to live like this for 20 days.”

Minghao raised an eyebrow. “And where else would he stay? I live in the tower now, officially. Vernon moved in with Kino. Mingyu moved into Cabin 97 with Eunwoo and the rest of them. Your cabin is the only vacant one left.”

“It wouldn’t be vacant if you hadn’t all betrayed me! Even Mingyu would still be here if Cabin 97 hadn’t gotten that addon last summer. Now it has ‘modern amenities’ like ‘air conditioning.’”

“It was literally crumbling from the inside out. If the state money didn’t go to fixing that place the park would be down four rooms.” Minghao stuffed the last of his paints and brushes into a box and taped it shut. “I’m heading out. Are you still coming to the bonfire tonight?” 

“Would you even let me skip it?”

“Of course not,” Minghao shuffled out the door and Jun held it open for him with a sigh. “And Jiacheng is driving up, so you were gonna be there either way.”  


“I’m over Jiacheng! I’ve been over Jiacheng!” Jun called out as Minghao hurried out the cabin and further up the dirt path that led to the firewatch tower. All he heard was a snicker in response, meaning Minghao definitely planned on gossiping to Mingyu the moment he was out of Jun’s eyesight. Jun shook his head and walked to his bedroom to get dressed. If he left early enough he wouldn’t have to meet his new roommate until the bonfire— preferably never, if he managed to get Seungcheol on his side.

\---

Yanan arrived at Camellia River State Park just after 7pm and right before sunset. After getting lost in the campsites and stopping multiple times to ask for directions, Wooseok finally managed to locate Cabin 88 and hastily pulled into the gravel driveway. Despite the fact that they were already there, Yanan felt anxious for the first time since he got offered the job. He looked at the surrounding trees and fauna, the faded wooden walls of where he’d agreed to live for the next three weeks, and inhaled a sharp breath.

“Is this a smart idea? I mean what if something…happens while I’m gone and I’m six hours away?”

Wooseok unlocked the car and climbed out before moving to open the passenger side door. “It’s been seven months and nothing ‘happened’. I promise I’ll let you know if anything changes but,” He pointed to the cabin and then back at Yanan. “You’ve gotta move into that fire hazard over there. And I have work tomorrow. So there’s no second guessing now.”

Yanan begrudgingly dragged himself out the car and popped the trunk. Grabbing three bags at once, he unlocked the front door using the key he’d received in the mail and walked inside. His expectations were never _high_ per say, but the cabin was both worse and better than he imagined. On one hand there was lots of space. Looking around, Yanan could count two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living area, and a kitchen. Cabin 88 wasn’t as outdated as the outside appearance would suggest either. Sure, there was wood paneling on the walls and bright pink rugged floors in the bedrooms and living area, but that was liveable. As long as the kitchen and bathroom had tiling he was fine. Yanan’s biggest gripe wasn’t the house itself but how lived-in it was. There were dishes in the sink and it didn’t look like his new roommate thought to clean anything but Yanan’s room before heading out. 

“Did a hurricane just come through or—” Wooseok asked first. He side eyed the pile of laundry taking up 90% of the couch and followed his friend into the bedroom.

“Maybe he just forgot? I’m not gonna judge this guy for being a little messy. He’s probably busy as hell.” Yanan sat on his mattress and started unpacking. “Shinwon told me the actual park rangers work thirteen hour shifts.”

“You’ve gotta love the earth to hell and back to be willing to spend 70 hours a week watching moss grow.” Wooseok plopped next to Yanan and pulled out his phone. “Do you want me to stay and help you get settled? I have like fifteen minutes to play around with before late shift traffic starts.”

Yanan lightly shoved Wooseok away and ruffled his hair. “You have work in the morning, dummy. Try to get back home before midnight.”

“This is the goodbye I get? After years of friendship and an entire day of manual labor?”

“You’re getting my car for a month. I think this arrangement benefits you more than it does me.”

“Is that all you think I care about? Luxury SUVs with four wheel drive and heated seats?” He stood to leave the room and Yanan followed through the door.

“Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate.” Yanan leaned towards the window as Wooseok climbed into his car. “Real talk, are you sure you’ll be alright? Last time I was out of town for this long you cried.”

Wooseok shot him a look. “That was different and you know it.” Yanan just shrugged.

“Not that different. Same me, same mess.” Yanan laughed humorlessly and checked the time on his watch. “Call me when you make it home, okay? And call out of work tomorrow if you’re too tired from driving.”

“Thanks _mom,_ love you too. You have forest shit to do so I’m gonna get going,” Wooseok pulled out of the driveway and back onto the dirt road. He popped his head out the window and glared at Yanan one last time. “Don’t skip that bonfire thing tonight! I’ll know if you do!”

Yanan half waved, half shooed Wooseok away and went back inside to unpack his things. He had three hours until Shinwon came to collect him for the infamously overhyped summer bonfire. But before he could think about any of that there was a much more concerning matter to take care of: his unthinkably messy living situation. Getting moved in could wait, but a space as cramped as the cabin needed constant upkeep to not get overcrowded. Yanan had lived in a three person college dorm room for four years— he understood the necessity of cleanliness all too well. Using the off brand cleaners he found in the bathroom cabinet (and brand new sponges he brought just for this scenario), Yanan made quick work of tidying up in the most non intrusive way possible. After an hour all of the dishes were cleaned and drying, the counters were scrubbed, the tiles were mopped, and the living room floor was vacuumed. Another hour later the bathroom was cleaned and an hour after that the self proclaimed busy body finally made it to his own bedroom, putting all of his clothes into their respective drawers and hanging his coats up in the closet. By the time Yanan got around to plugging in his various electronics (a laptop, an art tablet, and a switch) and sorting their wires, he was pleased with the progress he’d made. 

However, that left him with barely any time to get ready before Shinwon arrived. If he had to meet all of his coworkers the same night he arrived he wanted to look at least a _little_ cute for it. Yanan emptied the contents of his makeup bag onto the bathroom counter and raked his hand through his hair. Given how little he’d brought with him, a natural look was almost the only thing he could pull off. Maybe a shimmery eye shadow too? But he didn’t have any lipgloss to accentuate it, just lip liner and a dark red lipstick that clashed badly with what he had in mind. And shit, what was he gonna do with his hair? By the time Shinwon arrived in his grime covered white jeep Yanan was, in his opinion, barely presentable. Wooseok would’ve called him a drama queen for nitpicking so much. But there was no force strong enough to contain the whirlwind known as Ko Shinwon, and Yanan was being pulled into the car and on his way before he could even say hello.

Shinwon drove like he was on his way to the most important meeting of his life no matter where he was going. It was supposedly a fifteen minute trip but given the driver’s disregard for any and all speed limits, Yanan guessed it would last around fifteen seconds. 

“So tell me, Yanan…” Shinwon spotted a squirrel in the road and jerked the steering wheel harshly to the side to avoid hitting it. “Did you clean Cabin 88? How on god’s green earth did you get someone to help you with that?”

Yanan gripped onto his seat for dear life and double checked the tightness of his seatbelt. “Actually, I didn’t have any help. I just like cleaning.”

“So you did all of that yourself?” Shinwon whistled incredulously and shook his head. “I honestly shouldn’t be surprised, knowing you. Not that that’s bad or anything! It’s just that when we were in college your dorm was always spotless and even after you moved into that giant place uptown it was just as well kept. But it’s obviously been ages since then.”

“No, I still live there. It’s probably not as perfect looking as the last time you came by though.”

“You still live there? By _yourself_?” Shinwon’s eyes widened. “Did you publish a book without telling me or something? How can you afford that?”

Yanan shrunk into his seat. “I actually uh...I still don’t pay rent. Or utilities. Never have.”

“How— Actually, you know what? It’s not my business.” Shinwon swerved off the road and into the grass so suddenly that Yanan briefly worried the jeep might topple entirely. He parked the car in front of a large chain wire fence, a hair’s breadth away from a few other haphazardly parked vehicles. The old jeep shut off with a groan. “Are you still working on your novel, though? That last draft I read was insane.”

Both men got out of the car and Shinwon locked it as they walked further into the wooded area and closer to the gate. “Obviously I _want_ to get published and move out but that’s easier said than done. I can barely find temp work right now, let alone set up a meeting with my editor.” 

“Oh, absolutely not. You might be able to get away with excuses like that in the city but not here. If you don’t call Jinho I will.”

“I haven’t answered a call from him in months, dude. Or replied to any of his emails.”

Shinwon blinked. “Do you have a death wish…?”

“You’re proving my point! I can’t contact him again until I’ve got at least 300 pages of near perfect writing.” 

“Well have I got news for you,” They finally arrived at the gate and Shinwon held it open with a dramatic flourish. “It may not seem like it but everyone who works here has more free time than they could ever want or need. More than enough time to do something like, I don’t know, finish writing a novel? Hypothetically?”

Yanan rolled his eyes and laughed. “That’s half the reason I’m here. And I needed to get out of the city for a little.”

Shinwon nodded and the two fell into an amicable silence as they walked. Eventually the path gave way to a large clearing filled with park rangers. Lawn chairs and coolers surrounded the stone fire pit in a circle and Yanan could see groups of people waiting in line for what looked like a popcorn machine. Despite how late it was, the sky was still a light purple and only a few lightning bugs were lazily buzzing through the crowd. Shinwon rushed over to Hui the moment they arrived, leaving Yanan to awkwardly shift from foot to foot and fend for himself. He sat down at the first open chair he could find. The party was crowded but no one dared approach Yanan, just as he expected. He preferred people watching anyway. The music blaring from someone’s bluetooth speaker was loud but the half drunken crowd was even louder. A pod of younger looking rangers sat crowded together on a picnic blanket beside Yanan and he couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

“I’m convinced she doesn’t even _want_ to find a husband at this point!” Exclaimed a man with bright white hair. His pout complimented the heavy pink blush on his cheeks and four shiny stickers on his face spelled out _Kino_. “There are barely five episodes left and she still can’t choose between Minho and Seojun? When one of them is literally her soulmate while the other is extremely mediocre?”

A guy wearing bright orange sunglasses and a yellow beanie responded by shrugging. “I think Seojun’s pretty cool. You and Minghao are the only people I know who despise him like this.”

“It’s because he’s trash, Vernon.” Responded the aforementioned Minghao. He was flipping through a sketchbook and barely looked up as he said, “What kind of person confesses the day after they find out someone’s engaged? And after Hyojin already told him she’d never be able to think of him as more than a friend? He’s unbelievable.”

“You never know, feelings change.” Vernon stretched his entire body across the blanket and laid down on his elbows. His head was propped up by his hands as he stared up at Minghao. “There was a five year time skip between episode five and episode six— why not try again? Especially after Minho disappeared and left Hyojin to pick up the pieces.”

“You say that like Minho left on purpose!” Kino said, eyebrows raising in shock. “His mother went bankrupt! Was he supposed to just leave his family back home to starve?”

He rolled his eyes and looked away from his friends and directly at Yanan. “Hey, you agree with me, right?”

Yanan closed the article he was pretending to read on his phone and pointed to himself. “You mean me?”

“Yep, I mean you!” Kino’s smile stretched up to his eyes as he waved. “You were listening, right? I kind of just assumed that meant you’ve seen Eternal Flame. If you haven’t, I’d be happy to explain the plot in excruciating detail.”

“No, I’ve seen it. Hyojin is great but both of the male leads suck. And the ending is...a lot.” Yanan turned his chair around to face the group of people sitting next to him. “Dramas aren’t really my thing, though. I’m Yanan, by the way.”

“Yanan, please tell me you’re not the type of dude who hates dramas because they’re too feminine or something. I’ll cry.” Kino mockingly pouted. Yanan shook his head with a laugh.

“It’s nothing like that, I’ve just seen too many? I had a friend who was really into them for a while.”

“We can all appreciate Yeo Changgu as Minho though, right? That man is unhateable.”

Kino’s friends both hummed in agreement. Yanan looked away and awkwardly scratched his head.

“ _Changgu_? How could you possibly dislike him, he’s like the perfect lead!” Kino exclaimed, nearly standing up in shock.

“Yeah, but that means he’s in literally everything. Don’t you ever get sick of seeing him play the same character?”

“I can’t believe this. You’re the first new Kdrama fan I’ve encountered in months but your taste is abysmal. Shinwon should be ashamed of himself.”

Minghao narrowed his eyes in interest. “Wait, are you the person Shinwon hired to help in the office?”

Yanan nodded. “I’m helping him digitally archive all the paper files and updating the website. Technically I’m only hired for twenty days, but it probably won’t even take that long.”

“Shit, you’re _that_ Yanan.” Vernon said rolling onto his back and popping a stick of gum in his mouth. “I don’t envy you at all. That filing system is a 15 year old nightmare. You’ll be lucky to finish in the next decade.”

Before Yanan could respond another person sat down on the picnic blanket, dramatically grunting in frustration to make his presence known. He wore shorts and a plain white shirt with the park’s logo on the front and looked closest to what Yanan imagined an actual park ranger to be. Despite his small frame, he was quite tall with a noticeable tan and obviously spent more time working outside than in an office or behind a desk. His white tennis shoes were covered in dust and his slightly disheveled light brown hair literally had a stray leaf sticking out the side. If Yanan had seen his picture on the cover of an outdoor fitness magazine he would’ve thought it was over the top. But he was very much real and Yanan was only a little embarrassed by how obvious his staring was. And even more embarrassed to realize that because of said staring he’d spaced out of the conversation happening right in front of him.

“—Seungcheol can’t be serious. This has to be an ADA violation or something. How can they just _assign_ me a new roommate and expect me to be okay with it? It doesn’t make any sense.” The new guy said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Minghao swatted at him with his sketchbook.

“Don’t be so salty, Jun. Yuto’s getting new roommates too but you don’t see him interrupting Hui’s lunch to complain about it.” Minghao said with a disapproving frown. “Speaking of new people, Jun meet Yanan. Shinwon personally hired him to digitize all the files in the office so he’ll probably be here a while.”

Yanan forced a smile and waved while Jun stared back at him blankly. Eventually he smirked and raised one eyebrow curiously. “So what are you here for? Are you running away from your problems or are you a photographer or something? Cause I can tell you’re not the type to jump at a job like this.”

“I mean, it doesn’t seem all that bad. I may not be able to like chop wood but twenty days of filing isn’t the end of the world.”

“Oh my god, of course you’re only here for twenty days.” Jun laughed. “You seem like you’re from out of town, so I bet you won’t even last five.”

Kino narrowed his eyes. “Jun…”

He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not being an ass, I swear! When was the last time someone like him lasted more than a week? How is it rude to point out the obvious?”

“Just ignore him.” Kino said with a frown. “He’s still pissed about getting a roommate and taking it out on you.”

“No, I’m actually wondering something,” Yanan said, crossing his arms. “What exactly did you mean when you said ‘someone like me’? We’ve barely met, so I’d love to know how you apparently know so much about me.”

“Well, you’ve gotta be hiding from something. Everyone here is, and if they say they aren’t they're probably full of shit. But unlike most of us you’re only here for less than a month— meaning you’ve got something more important to go back to.” Jun nodded matter of factly and it took everything in Yanan to not roll his eyes. “This is like a vacation for you. Am I wrong?”

“First time I’ve been paid to go on vacation.”

Jun smiled again and Yanan couldn’t help but find him annoying. “That depends on if you can last five days without iced coffee, or whatever your Starbucks order is.”

“And, that’s enough out of you. We’re leaving.” Minghao said, grabbing Jun by the arm and lifting both of them off the blanket. “It’s late and Jun gets bitchy when he’s drunk, sorry about that, Yanan. By the way, where are you staying? I might be able to drop you off if it’s close enough.”

“Uh, I’m in Cabin 88 I think. It’s like fifteen minutes away.” Yanan said, looking in any direction but at Jun. The group grew silent and Yanan swore the entire crowd quieted by a decibel or two.

Jun piped up first. “You can’t be serious.”

“That sure is something.” Kino said, barely holding back his laughter.

Vernon tutted his tongue in disapproval. “Do you feel even a little bit ashamed of yourself, oh high and mighty Wen Junhui? Or will you die on that hill?”

“You really expect me to take back what I said just because he’s my roommate?” Jun scoffed. Yanan considered quitting right then and there. Of course he had to live with this guy and not the much friendlier Kino or even Shinwon. No, he had to get stuck with the resident forest hipster. That was just his luck.

“Come on or I’m leaving you.” Minghao said, entirely uninterested in the chaos unfolding in front of him. Yanan hurried to gather his things and Jun continued to sulk as they walked away from the bonfire, past the gate, and to the car. Jun made a show out of slamming the car door as he got in and Yanan didn’t hesitate to roll his eyes. Whether he actually stayed the full 20 days or not one thing was certain: he’d get past the first five days even if it killed him.

\---

Jun had never experienced something quite as awkward as having a roommate who refused to speak to him. Sure, he’d fucked up before and sullied a few first impressions here and there. But never had he fucked up so royally within the first day of meeting someone. Five days passed after the bonfire and Yanan didn’t say a word to him the entire time. Their schedules were entirely different so they didn’t really run into each other during the day. Almost all of their communication occurred via sticky notes written by Yanan with messages that weren’t even intended for Jun, just general reminders of chores that needed to be done like “Don’t forget to take out the trash!” and “Remember to refill the dishwasher when you get home!” Sure, Jun had been buzzed bordering on drunk when he got into his introductory confrontation with Yanan, but how was he still being this petty about it? Even if Jun didn’t directly ask for a roommate, that didn’t mean he wanted to live in complete silence for a month either.

“Was I really that bad?” Jun asked Minghao as they made their way down the lunch line. The mess hall was almost always crowded with people so the two of them tended to eat every meal a few hours early to avoid the traffic. Kun, who was in charge of not only cooking but also cleaning the cafeteria, was only somewhat annoyed by it.

“You were drunk but not in a cute way. More in the ‘annoying and overly confrontational’ way.” Minghao barely bit back a smile as he grabbed a fruit cup and walked over to their table. “Have you guys been arguing a lot or something?”

“No, it’s just—” Jun sighed and covered his face with his hands. “He kind of hasn’t spoken to me since the first night. At all.”

Minghao started laughing so hard he had to put down his bottled water. “Don’t you think you kind of deserve it after you chewed his ear off like that? And he actually has a spine too, good for him!”

“It’s been five days, dude! I thought you were passive aggressive but Yanan is another level.” Jun crossed his arms in annoyance. “...Should I apologize? I wouldn’t have said as much as I did if I knew we’d be living together. But that actually makes it somewhat worse.”

“That’s on you, Jun.” Minghao said, taking a bite of his food. ”Kino says he’s an angel to work with. He traded desks with Yuto so they could sit near each other.”

“So basically what you’re saying is that he only ignores me. Good to know.” Jun huffed.

\---

It was Yanan’s sixth night in the cabin when Jun finally made the effort to speak to him. He personally would have lasted at least two more days without saying anything, but Jun was obviously the more talkative person between them. Both of their schedules during the day were busy; Jun left right at dawn and Yanan only woke around 8am. Jun’s job took place almost entirely outside, clearing the trails of debris and making sure no one tried to sneak into the parts of the lake that were off limits. Yanan worked from nine to five staring at a computer screen and went home the instant he was no longer required to be there. This left very little opportunity for them to run into each other, with night being the only time they were both actually in the cabin. But unlike Yanan initially thought this didn’t actually work in his favor; it just made it all the easier for his roommate to corner him into a conversation.

“Hey, Yanan?” Jun called with a knock on his partially open bedroom door. He peaked his head in and waved. “I was wondering if we could talk? I don’t remember all I said at the bonfire but I know I was kind of a dick to you.”

Yanan turned off the podcast he was listening to and gestured for Jun to come in. The two remained in silence for a few moments as they waited for the other to speak. Jun cracked first.

“I’m sorry for assuming things about you and your past, especially right after we met. That was rude and I’ll do better going forward. Obviously, you don’t have to forgive me but I think both of us want to get through these next few weeks on good terms which means we’re gonna have to talk here and there.” Jun shifted awkwardly before working up a smile. “Unless you prefer communicating via sticky notes. I’m totally down for that too.”

“Okay.” Yanan said with a shrug. He put his headphones back on and went to press play. Jun’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“Okay? Does that mean we’re good? Or are you still doing the whole silent treatment vengeance thing?”

Yanan lifted one headphone off his ear and stared at Jun blank faced. “We’re good. You apologized so that’s it. Is there anything else?”

“Um. No, I guess not.” Jun scratched his head with one hand and turned to leave. “Actually— Vernon went into town and brought back takeout earlier so I was wondering if you wanted to eat together? If that’s okay with you?”

The meal passed in all too familiar silence as both men grappled for anything at all to talk about. For the first time since undergoing his most petty endeavor to date, Yanan felt kind of like an ass for never getting to know Jun.

“So do you like chinese food? The american kind, I mean.” Yanan asked, inwardly cringing at how abysmal he was at small talk.

“I guess so,” Jun answered with a snort. “I’ve never had any ‘actual’ chinese food, if that’s what you’re asking. And Vernon’s the one who drives forty minutes away to eat the same thing once a week. The rest of us only eat it cause it’s there.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I grew up in Shanghai and spent a few years in Seoul, so I’ve tried a bunch of different foods. And I can cook any kind of cuisine if I have a recipe, but I’m no top chef.”

“Does that mean you can speak mandarin? Because mine is absolute dogshit and I haven’t brushed up in like two years.”

“I can speak mandarin, korean, english, french, and bare minimum japanese if I need to. Being a polyglot isn’t as useful as you would expect though.”

Jun shook his head. “I cannot even imagine storing that much information in my brain at all times. Minghao taught me how to play chess and I lost a $20 game to Seungcheol’s rook a month later.”

“You might just be ass at betting, dude. Considering how you said I wouldn’t last five days and yet here I am a week later.”

“Please god, tell me I didn’t actually say that.”

Yanan picked up his plate and snickered as he walked away. “You most definitely did.” Any semblance of a retort died down as Jun’s face glowed red with embarrassment. Sure, they made up, but Yanan wasn’t gonna let him off _that_ easy.

By the time they were finished eating, Yanan guiltily realized that his initial impression of Jun was far off from the person he actually was. Wooseok was either going to laugh his ass off or rip him a new one for stirring the pot so much in his first week. But who could blame Yanan for being a brat when annoying Jun was so entertaining?

\---

Following their tenuously earned breakthrough, Jun was finally able to complain about his new roommate in good conscience. Specifically, his tendency to sniff around for something to clean instead of letting the cabin stay somewhat lived in like a normal person. Jun was not a terrible roommate. When he was home he made sure to do laundry and start the dishwasher and clean the bathroom, all the necessary things to make sure his place of living was presentable. Yanan’s standards of ‘dirty’ were much different. If Cabin 88 didn’t look like a page out of Home Goods the moment he got through the door, he’d spend the rest of his night cleaning to make up for it. Jun had never met someone so adept with bleach and a sponge. It was on Yanan’s 10th day at the lake that Jun got an explanation for his over the top living style.

The park was closed for the day due to construction in the mess hall, meaning all staff had the day off. Almost everyone drove into town for drinks but Jun hung back, as he always did. Being one of few people in a near empty park never got any less lonely, but he was used to it. His friends had lives outside of work and he respected that, even if he personally considered navigating the world outside of the park to be much more work in the long run. Jun was debating which song to sulk to when he opened the door to Cabin 88, only to hear the telltale _vrrr_ of a vacuum going off in the living room. 

“What are you still doing here?” Jun half shouted. He slammed the door behind him to make his presence known. Yanan startled before noticing Jun and acknowledging him with a wave. He turned off the vacuum and put it back in the closet.

“I was gonna go with Kino but drinking isn’t really my thing. Then he told me you usually stay back so I thought you might enjoy the company?” Yanan was just as awkward as ever but Jun appreciated the gesture either way. “Why aren’t you going though? I’ve personally never seen it, but everyone around here claims you're the life of the party.”

“That’s an interesting question that will probably take fifteen minutes and several beers to answer.” Jun said with a slight quirk of his lips.

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable or anything—”

“No, it’s fine. You were probably gonna find out anyway, plus I don’t care that much.” Jun sat down beside Yanan on the couch and pointed at him. “But in exchange do you mind telling me why you’re constantly cleaning? Is this place that much of a shithole?”

Yanan blushed and shook his head. “I promise it’s nothing like that, I just tidy up to destress.”

“Good to know! But seriously, if it ever gets too terrible you can be honest, I’m barely here long enough to notice.”

“When I got here it was pretty terrible. I cleaned for three hours straight.”

“Excluding that day because we’ve both agreed to pretend it never happened!” Jun said, smiling brightly. “Moving on, I don’t go into town because I never leave the park. I basically live here. The only time I leave is when I’m legally required to during the off season.”

He’d said it matter of factly as if it were the most normal thing in the world, but Jun could see the cogs in Yanan’s brain turning. “Don’t you take any seasons off? Shinwon told me that the only people required to work year round are the park directors.”

Jun rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me. Seungcheol, Shinwon, and Hui are technically the only people who ‘actually’ live here. I’ve worked at the lake for five years and still need two more years work experience to qualify for park director. How fucked is that?” Jun’s face darkened and he looked away. “Truthfully, I don’t even want the position as much as I want an excuse to stay holed up here. It’s kind of pathetic.”

“You like working in nature, right? I can’t relate in the slightest but of course you’d wanna stay. That’s not pathetic, it’s normal.”

“Remember how I said everyone here is running from something?” Jun stared at Yanan to gauge his response. “It’s not easy to tell given how charismatic and sexy I am, but I literally cannot go out in public without having a panic attack. Really bad, day ruining panic attacks and they used to happen constantly. This park is one of the only places where I don’t feel anxious so that’s why I work here. I even don’t have any aspirations at this point. It’s somewhat pathetic.”

Yanan’s eyes widened but the look of pity Jun was expecting never came. “Aspirations are overrated. I used to obsess over things like that, but life is so unpredictable that it's pointless to plan too far ahead. You shouldn’t overthink it.”

“That’s actually shocking. I expected you to be the kind of person who has everything figured out five years in advance and $15,000 in savings at all times.” Yanan rolled his eyes but for what was quite possibly the first time, Jun actually made him laugh.

“God, I wish that were true. It _used_ to be true but certainly not anymore.” Yanan leaned back on the couch and grinned. “You know why I decided to work here, Jun? Because my fiance left the country for work and then ghosted me for a year. He didn’t contact me once but I kept justifying it up until he came back to town and started avoiding me.”

“Your _fiance_? What kind of work makes you so busy that you can’t contact the person you’re planning to spend the rest of your life with?!”

“Have you ever heard of Yeo Changgu? He blew up in Korea a few years ago and does like twelve dramas a year. So leaving the country was a regular thing for him.”

“You can’t be serious.” Jun’s mouth fell open with the realization. “You were engaged to Yeo Changgu? Kino’s dream man? And he fucking ghosted you?!”

“Yep, we dated for five years. Got engaged on our sixth anniversary and then a month after that he fell off the face of the planet.” Yanan said, nonchalantly tying his hair into a ponytail as if he were talking about some run of the mill breakup and not his former engagement to an A-list celebrity. “The worst part is that I can’t even hate him for it. Changgu despises confrontation and he’s infuriatingly sweet. He probably thought ghosting me would hurt less or something.”

“That’s the opposite of sweet. Not talking to your own fiance for over a year? Incredibly bad, bordering on evil behavior.” Jun said, shaking his head. Yanan laughed so hard he snorted.

“You’re the first person to ever call Yeo Changgu evil. That’s definitely one way to look at it.” Yanan laughed. “But he still pays all of my bills and doesn’t bat an eye when I use our shared account to buy shit like groceries. And he paid off my car completely, all while he was still in Korea. So in the end he’s still a saint.”

“You’re a better man than me, Yanan. If that happened to me the entire world would know. My business would be everyone’s business.”

Yanan quirked an eyebrow. “I considered it. But it’s not like I was the one financially supporting our relationship or something. Even before he started getting roles, Changgu came from money. I was a stay-at-home novelist up to my knees in student debt. The media would have torn me to shreds.”

“That’s so fucked.” Jun pouted. “How are you not a supervillain at this point. I’ve taken longer to get over a regular breakup, let alone an engagement.”

“Oh, I had my downward spiral moment, don’t worry.” Yanan said, still grinning. “All of my friends were Changgu’s friends and hanging out with them meant getting a bunch of weird stares because no one knew how to speak to me without him around. So for like two months I only went out if it meant I could get shitfaced. My best friend hated it and the hangovers got old fast so then I moved onto smoking and then vaping...But that was just as bad and I got tired of it even quicker than drinking. By the end of all that my apartment was a rat’s nest and cleaning it actually made me feel productive. So now I clean to avoid doing something marginally worse for my health.”

“There’s more than a few ways to clear your mind out here, trust me.” Jun pulled out his phone and checked the time as well as a map of the park. “I assure you I can think of something.” If it were any earlier they could’ve gone on a hike but it wasn’t safe to start in the afternoon for someone with little to no experience. Yanan peaked at the various hiking trails listed on Jun’s phone screen and giggled.

“Instead of journeying into the forest do you just wanna walk down to the vending machines? Or is that not enough rigorous exercise for you?”

Jun hopped off the couch and grabbed his coat as he ran to the door. “Bet you can’t beat me there!”

“We’re 25 years old, not 13!” Yanan yelled, rushing to lock the door and chase after him. “That being said, it doesn’t count if you don’t give me a warning!”

Jun slowed down enough for Yanan to match his pace and laughed. “You can’t beat me either way, dude.”

“Get over yourself, I used to run track.”

“Emphasis on _used to_.”

Yanan tied his ponytail into a bun as they ran and Jun tried to ignore how objectively pretty he looked in favor of winning the race. He nearly lost, but Yanan didn’t seem to notice.

\---

It was Yanan’s sixteenth night at the cabin when Jun finally managed to find the time to take him on a hike. Since the talk they’d had over a week ago the two had become, in Kino’s words, “annoyingly inseparable”. Or at least as inseparable as two people could be when they had constantly conflicting schedules and a penchant for disagreeing over petty things. They had yet to get into an actual argument, but everyday Yanan was shocked to realize that someone just as bratty as him (if not more) even existed.

“I’m not learning how to boil water.” Jun said determinedly as he walked ahead of Yanan. “I have a slow cooker and a kettle. What more could I possibly need? The water is boiled for me.”

“To learn a new skill? So when Minghao asks, you can say ‘Yeah, I know how to make spaghetti now without burning down the kitchen’?” Yanan asked, eyebrows raised to emphasize his point. The fun thing about bickering with Jun was that it distracted him from the overbearing heat attacking them from all sides. As August 31st grew closer the park only got hotter and Yanan was barely prepared for it. Wearing his hair down was no longer an option and on most days it was too hot for the bun to even stay in place. He wiped the sweat off his face and checked the map on his phone— point two miles left until they reached whatever spot Jun was trying to find. He swore up and down it was worth the long walk for the view, but Yanan wasn’t sure if any view was worth exerting this much effort.

“In what way is boiling water a skill? And I know how to make spaghett—”

“No you do not.” Yanan interrupted. “That was definitely something, but not spaghetti. I don’t even know how you managed to burn angel hair pasta.”

“You said you wanted a break from cooking and I cooked! I thought it tasted great!” Jun shrugged dramatically to emphasize his point. Before Yanan could respond he ran farther up the path and pushed aside a log to reveal a fork in the dirt road. “Wait, shut up...we’re actually here! I thought I forgot where it was or maybe we already passed it.”

Yanan narrowed his eyes and followed. “So you nearly got lost on the way to your secret spot?”

“That’s how you know it’s well hidden.” Jun said, smiling devilishly.

Yanan didn’t have any idea of what to expect, but once they’d actually made it he couldn’t help but feel like Jun had undersold it. The trees opened up to a fenced off cliff face overlooking the lake. Almost the entire park was visible from the high vantage point and a simple stone bench was placed in the perfect position to view all of it. White and yellow flowers littered the grass and moss grew up the side of a long forgotten plaque displaying a map of the hiking trails. It wasn’t particularly picturesque, but that only made Yanan love it more. It truly felt like Jun was letting him in on something secret, a space completely isolated from everything but the two of them.

“Do you like it?” Jun said, blushing just the slightest bit. “I know the hike sucked ass, it was pretty long to be your first one. Sorry about that. I just felt like you deserved to see the best the park has to offer before you leave? I guess I could’ve waited until your last day...but that felt lame.”

Yanan tossed his backpack to the ground and squished beside Jun on the bench. It wasn’t anywhere near long enough to properly fit two grown men but Yanan was too tired to care. “I think it’s nice. Beautiful, even. I’ll only regret this a little bit when I wake up sore tomorrow morning.”

“God, you’re out of shape,” Jun laughed as he watched Yanan try to slump himself into a comfortable position without falling to the ground. “I brought a blanket you know. You can sit on the ground if you want.”

Yanan looked at Jun for a split second before thinking ‘ _to hell with it_ ’ and resting his head on the older man’s shoulder. “The ground’s not comfortable. Too hot.”

“But nearly sitting on my lap is fine?!” Jun startled, face burning bright red. It was cute to know what kind of effect Yanan had on him even if it didn’t mean much in the long run. Jun was cute in general. It would be a lie to say otherwise. But despite his age, Yanan still didn’t have much trust in his own feelings. Did he actually like Jun? Or was he just the first person besides Wooseok to give Yanan positive attention in over a year? Either way, it wasn’t fair to Jun to act on whatever he was feeling. Who could even say if they’d keep in contact after Yanan left the park?

“Am I too close?” Yanan asked, staring up at Jun. He completely avoided eye contact and looked out at the lake instead.

“It—It’s fine. I was actually wondering something,” Jun said, stumbling over his words as he continued. “How much uh, archiving do you have left to do in the office? Last time I talked to Kino he said you were barely 60% done.”

“We actually got a bunch of stuff done this week. Me and Shinwon stayed for like three extra hours yesterday to get all of the 2017 documents filed. It’s cutting super close but we’ll _probably_ be finished in three days.”

Jun hardened his face and spoke up again. “I actually have another question.”

“Ask away, dude.”

“Have you considered dating again? Like at all? Now that some time has passed since everything that happened with Changgu…?” There were two very conflicting thoughts bouncing through Yanan’s head at that moment. On one hand, he wanted to say absolutely not. He wanted to keep holding onto the ever diminishing hope that one day Changgu would call or text and everything would go back to normal. Yanan had been trying to move on for over a year but the thought of letting everything go still scared him. On the other hand, Yanan wanted to throw caution to the wind and just say yes. He wanted to start living his own life completely free of all the expectations he built six years ago in a college dorm room. But neither of those things were quite true anymore.

“Honestly? Not yet.” Before Jun could sulk, Yanan grabbed both of his hands and held them there. “But I’m considering it. Maybe in a few months, or maybe even a few weeks. Either way...I’m getting there.”

Jun’s mouth open and shut in silence as he processed the bold reply to his equally bold question. Yanan laughed and shoved his side playfully before standing up to stretch. “You know what? It really is too hot to be sitting this close. I’ll take that blanket.”

Jun rolled his eyes but smiled anyway, tossing the rolled up blanket at his roommate. “Go to hell, Yanan.”

\---

It was on Yanan’s 18th day at the park that the two had their first argument. Jun went to work as usual at 6am and spent pretty much his entire morning counting down to when he could finally leave for lunch. Monitoring the trails was never boring— more than enough overzealous hikers and unchaperoned teens made sure of that. But the forty minutes he spent at the mess hall tended to be the most interesting part of his day. He got through the morning looking forward to lunch and got through the afternoon looking forward to going back to the cabin. Kino and Minghao would both give him _that_ look if he admitted it out loud, but that was the truth. So when Jun walked past the vending machines and into the mess hall, two iced teas in hand, to find one person in particular missing from his table he was surprised. 

“Are Yanan and Shinwon working through lunch?” Jun asked, sliding the two bottles onto the table and sitting down beside Kino.

“Aren’t you a little eager?” Minghao said with a smirk. “No ‘Hello’? We eat here too.”

“Why would I ask about you when you're right here?” Jun asked, playfully rolling his eyes. “Unlike the rest of us useless millennials, Yanan can actually cook. So it would make sense if he packed a lunch or something, he just didn’t tell me he wasn’t coming last night.”

“Wait, you didn’t hear?” Kino said, looking up from his phone. “Yanan took the day off. Apparently something came up back home? He sounded like shit over the phone so obviously Shinwon was fine with it.”

Jun’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “He didn’t go in today? Like, at all?”

“Nope.” Kino shook his head. “Nobody’s seen him all day either. I asked Kun if he came by earlier and he said no. Hopefully he’s okay.”

Before Kino had the chance to finish, Jun was already standing up to leave. Minghao gave him _that_ look but thankfully didn’t say anything. “We can eat dinner together tomorrow, okay? I swear.” Jun said staring at his friend with puppy dog eyes.

“Don’t let me hold you up,” Minghao replied with a laugh. “I’ll live, you’re fine.”

With that, Jun grabbed his things and left the cafeteria. The walk back to Cabin 88 wasn’t particularly long but he did have to get back to work by a certain time. He half ran, half jogged past the various cabins looking for his own. What was bad enough to make Yanan skip out on a full day of work right before his deadline? Jun slowed to a stop in front of the driveway and walked inside. The door to the cabin wasn’t even locked, something Yanan was very sure to do before leaving any other day. When Jun stepped inside he immediately realized how much messier the place looked than usual. Not actually messy by his standards, but compared to the way Yanan usually kept on top of things it was noticeably different. The coffee machine was still running and two untoasted pieces of bread stuck out of the toaster. The dishwasher still hadn’t been emptied and two baskets of unfolded laundry sat unfolded beside the couch. If Jun didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed that Yanan slept in at first glance. But for him to avoid cleaning, the one thing he always did to make himself feel better? That was strange.

“Yanan?” Jun called as he walked passed the living area and into the hallway. He knocked on Yanan’s door twice and waited. “Are you okay? Or do you wanna be alone right now?”

Jun heard something that sounded like a sob mixed with a sigh before he got a response. “You don’t have to be here, you have more important things to do. And I’m kind of a mess right now.”

“I don’t mind, I’ve got plenty of time.” Jun backed away from the door and nodded to himself. “But I’ll let you be if that’s what you need. There’s food on the counter for when you get hungry.”

The door suddenly opened to reveal a disheveled Yanan. He wore an oversized black hoodie and his shoulder length blonde hair was sticking out in every direction. “You said there was food?”

The two ate in silence and Jun scrolled randomly on his phone in an attempt to cut the tension. Should he even be here? Or was his presence only making things more uncomfortable for Yanan? Jun wanted to help cheer him up but good intentions didn’t mean much if he couldn’t act on them. Before any smalltalk could start, Yanan dropped his fork onto his half eaten plate of pasta and sighed.

“Changgu called this morning.” Yanan said defeatedly. “He said he’s moving back to Korea for six months and asked me to come with him. I didn’t even know how to respond.”

Jun was stunned silent. “And this is the first time he’s talked to you in over a year?”

“Yeah,” Yanan nodded. “He apologized for everything but...would anyone forgive him? If someone did this to Wooseok I’d want their head on a stick for even _thinking_ they could speak to him again. But I feel like an idiot for still being upset. It’s just a clusterfuck. Sorry for dropping all of this on you, I know it’s not really your business.”

“Don’t apologize, I chose to come check on you.” Jun said with a smile he hoped was reassuring. “And it’s a little late to stop oversharing. That’s like our thing at this point. How did he respond when you told him how you feel?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. I just asked for some time to think it over.” Yanan wiped his hair out of his eyes and grimaced. “He sounded so happy that I even picked up, I— I didn’t wanna ruin everything again.”

“Again? Yanan you didn’t ruin anything to begin with.” Jun said, eyebrows raising incredulously. “He barely has the right to speak to you, let alone ask something like that out of the blue!”

“Listen, it’s not like that okay?! Sure, I’m still upset but maybe that’s just the shock of all this bullshit finally being over settling in.” Yanan stood up from the table with a slam and put his dishes in the sink. “I built my entire life from the time that I was 19 with him in mind. And in one day I’m supposed to just go back on that? Where the hell would I go from there, Jun?! Back to living in the apartment he’s paying for?!”

“I don’t know, but going back to Changgu after everything? You think that’s the solution to all of your problems? Problems that he’s the source of, I should add!”

“You don’t know him. This was a one time thi—”

“I know you, Yanan! Maybe not more than Changgu or even as much as Wooseok, but what you’ve told me is more than enough to know that you don’t want this!”

“Fuck off, Jun.” Yanan said finally, turning to glare at his roommate. “In the end it’s my decision. Not Changgu’s, not Wooseok’s, and assuredly not yours. I’m going to my bedroom. Tell Shinwon I’m coming in early tomorrow morning.”

With that, Yanan walked away and Jun felt something cold run down his spine. He knew he was in the wrong. He shouldn’t have overstepped. But the adrenaline of the argument left him feeling indignant and he did one last thing he’d regret.

“Then I guess you’re exactly the person I thought you were.” Jun exclaimed, standing up to leave. He shut the door behind him and didn’t look back.

\---

It was Yanan’s 20th night in the cabin when him and Jun finally spoke again. They’d spent two days avoiding each other in every way possible, from skipping lunch to sleeping in other people’s cabins. Kino asked if they were okay multiple times but it was pointless. Honestly, Yanan wasn’t even sure what happened. How were three weeks of friendship, and maybe even something more, over just like that? He didn’t want it to end this way but the longer he spent alone in Cabin 88, the more likely it seemed. 

It’s not like Jun was exactly wrong. Yanan had taken over a year to move on and in just one phone call he was back to square one. It didn’t make sense to even consider trying to make things work again with Changgu, but nothing about the past year and a half had made sense for Yanan. Staring down the barrel of all the questionable things he’d done while single, trying to go back to normal almost seemed like the more responsible decision. When Yanan was with Changgu he was an entirely different person and he desperately wanted to still be able to see that as a good thing instead of a red flag.

By the time Yanan had packed all of his bags and cleaned the entire cabin, it was so late that he assumed Jun was staying with Minghao again. The tower barely had the space to hold one person let alone two, but if there was Jun knew how to do flawlessly it was hide. Yanan didn’t cross paths with him once in 36 hours so even if he’d wanted to resolve things he never got the chance. When he heard a random knock at the door right before sunset he assumed it was Kino coming to say goodbye again or maybe Shinwon— his own roommate was the last person Yanan expected to turn up.

“Can I come in?” Jun asked, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. He looked just about as godlike as usual excluding the slight bags under his eyes. The moment Yanan opened the door he noticed it; Jun looked much more tired than usual.

“Uh, sure,” Yanan started. “You do live here.”

Jun closed the door behind him and paced to the kitchen before exhaling a breath to speak. 

“I’m just gonna say this, and feel free to interrupt or kick me out again if I’m not making sense, okay?” Jun said finally. “I’m sorry for being a dick. You didn’t have to tell me anything about yourself but you did, and I lectured you on what to do with your own life which obviously wasn’t my place. Also I made assumptions about you again which was entirely uncalled for. If you don’t want to speak to me anymore that’s fine, but I just wanted to apologize before you left.”

Yanan collapsed onto the couch and stared before shrugging. “Your perception of people you barely know is definitely fucked, you should work on that.”

“I’m really sorry, Yanan. Ever since we met I’ve been an ass and that wasn’t justified in any way—” Yanan’s laugh cut him off.

“It’s okay, really. I’m over it. At least you know what you did wrong.” Yanan said with a wave of his hand. “You shouldn’t have spoken to me like that but...I probably would’ve done the same thing. So I can’t be that pissed at you.”

Jun sat down beside Yanan on the couch with a sigh. “You really can’t hold grudges, can you?”

“Not at all. Trust me, I’ve tried. Not even against Changgu.” Yanan said, rolling his eyes. Jun’s eyes narrowed immediately after hearing the name. “I turned him down, by the way. We’re officially broken up now. It’s crazy to think about, so I haven’t really tried to come to terms with it yet.”

Jun gasped. “Just like that?! Yanan, you know you don’t have to listen to me like at all, right?”

“It was my decision. We’re just not the same people anymore. I don’t even know what I would talk to him about at this point. Changgu was in South Korea filming award winning tv shows while I was wasting away in our apartment drinking peppermint vodka like it was water.” Yanan said, staring up at the ceiling. “A year is actually an insanely long amount of time to be apart if you’ve been with the same person for your entire adult life.”

Jun nodded. “So...does that mean you don’t have any more feelings for him?”

“Surprisingly enough, yeah. I think I’ve actually moved on. Or at least I’m starting to.”

Jun took a breath and turned to face Yanan before saying, “Do you have feelings for anyone else? Are you ready for that yet?”

Yanan blushed and leaned forward slightly. “I do have feelings. I don’t think I’m ready to act on them yet, but...I do like you, Jun.”

Jun tried (and failed) to hide the blush creeping up his face with his hands. “Who says I was asking that? Do you have to be so _blunt_?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the direct one?” Yanan giggled, gently pulling Jun’s hands away from his face and interlocking them with his own. “Speaking of which, I have another question.”

“What is it?” Jun asked.

“Can I kiss you?” Yanan asked with a smirk. Jun opened and closed his mouth incredulously.

“Wh—I mean of course, but are you ready for that?!”

Yanan leaned forward until their foreheads were nearly touching. “I just wanna make sure you don’t forget about me while I’m gone.” He laughed. “I’m fine with this to start. Are you?”

Jun nodded quickly before leaning closer to close the gap. The kiss was simple and Yanan couldn’t help but appreciate how well the two of them worked when they weren’t arguing. Jun was bold but he didn’t ask anything more of Yanan than what was explicitly stated. When they finally pulled apart Yanan’s hair was disheveled and he had to tie it up to stop it from getting in his eyes.

“Hey, Yanan?” Jun said looking over with a smile of his own. “I don’t know you that well yet, but I want to. So don’t forget about me when you leave, either.”

Yanan rushed to pull out his phone. “You have my number, right? Send me your social media so I can follow you.”

“Uh, I don’t think I have any.” Jun said, staring blankly. “I only have instagram and I barely use it.”

Yanan shook his head and tried to hold back a smile. “You’re such an old man.”

“I’m 25! We’re the same age!”

“But you’re still older than me so…”

“I can’t believe we’ve only got hours to hang out before you leave and you’re still treating me like this.” Jun pouted, falling back into the chair dramatically. “You’re a brat.”

“Not any more than you!” Yanan gasped, leaning on Jun’s shoulder. “You’re only acting like this because you want me to take back what I said and shower you with compliments. I know how you think.”

“And I know you like to be annoying on purpose. So where do we go from here?” Jun turned to look at Yanan with a quirk of his lips.

“I don’t know,” Yanan leaned forward to peck his roommate on the cheek. “You tell me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no excuse for submitting this so late, I'm so sorry. 😭 I've been sick (nothing serious, just bad allergies) but I finally finished it! This prompt was so cute, I hope I did it justice. Also hurray for the longest fic I've ever written. :D Thank you for reading!!


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